On the Seesaw By Yourself (Why Doing Ministry Alone Doesn’t Work)

Trying to do ministry alone is kind of like trying to play on a seesaw by yourself. It may sort of work for a little while, but eventually, your thighs are burning and there’s not much payoff.

Just like a seesaw, when you do ministry alone…

You burn out! I know “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26) but it’s just not healthy for you or your ministry. Carrying the weight of every responsibility will leave you feeling worn out, overworked, and constantly behind. You’ll be jumping as hard as you can on that seesaw but will only go so high, wasting a lot of energy in the process and not getting much accomplished. Before long, you won’t be able to keep up the pace you’ve set, and everything (your family, your ministry, your sanity) suffers.

You leave out! Maybe there’s someone else on the playground who wants to get on the seesaw too, but if you never invite them, they’ll never have the chance to play. Maybe it’s someone praying for a way to use the amazing cooking skills God has given them. Or a teenager wanting to learn about photography but needing an environment to practice. Or even someone with impeccable people skills who would be a rock star at organizing volunteers. When you do everything yourself – the cutting, the shopping, the prepping, the photographing, and even the planning – you leave out people who may WANT to take on those tasks for you. God didn’t design you to do it all yourself. He created you with strengths and weaknesses that complement someone else’s strengths and weaknesses, and when you do ministry alone, you rob someone of the opportunity to use the gifts and talents God has given them.

You miss out! You’ll go higher, last longer, and just have more fun when you seesaw with a friend. When you leave people out of your ministry, you limit your creativity, potential, and even functionality. That great idea for a community event? You’ll never hear it because you’re the one planning the whole calendar. That change to the craft that makes your life MUCH easier? Nope – you’re still doing it the hard way because you don’t invite another head into the process. Doing ministry alone can prevent you from experiencing some pretty awesome things.

When you invite people to join you, you are healthier, your ministry is healthier, and life is just more fun! Stop trying to do it all alone. Invite someone to join you on the seesaw and explore the possibilities collaboration can bring.

And this goes for more than just your own ministry! Find a group of fellow kidmin leaders to collaborate with and encourage. Need a safe, reliable place to start? Try Leadership Circles from Joy Canupp. Learn more about Leadership Circles and how you can join one (starting this September 2023!) here.